Available on Dec 1 (next week), Ablaze Publishing releases Animal Castle #1.
It’s a ‘dog-eat-dog’ world on the Farm. The Farm is run by animals, in a strict pecking order. Step out of line, or blink the wrong way and you’ll find yourself in deep doodoo. Or simply chewed to death, with President Silvio and the dog militia adding fangs to their threats.
The power structure has its obvious political references to the past, with its ‘work til you drop’ attitude, of starving and exhausted farm animal inmates.
But there is resistance, there is determination and there is trouble!
Writer Xavier Dorison (Red One, Long John Silver, Asgard, etc) teams up with artist Felix Delep (Miss Bengalor, etc) to muck us in with the barnyard animals. Delep is able to convey an animal presence in his drawings, but make them relatable and gritty. This is not Disneyland or Dreamworks after all. Delep’s colour palette is muted and desaturated, adding to the sombre mood of the story.
Animal Castle is an astoundingly well-illustrated story of survival in a brutally run animal kingdom. Picture the animated film “Chicken Run”, but without the laughs and antics. It’s chilling and incredibly breathtaking to read. And recommended.
Ablaze Publications, Animal Castle #1, 3.99 for 22 pages of content. Teen 16+